Thread Rating:
07-24-2010, 05:43 PM
http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/201...he-started
When Highlands quarterback Patrick Towles looks at Jared Lorenzen, he does not see the former high school quarterback who threw for 3,392 yards and 45 touchdowns while leading the unbeaten Bluebirds to a state championship and winning the Kentucky Mr. Football award in 1998.
He does not see the former Kentucky player who set school records in total offense, passing yards and passing touchdowns while playing for the Wildcats.
And he does not see the former NFL player who, as a third-string quarterback, won a Super Bowl ring in 2008 when the New York Giants shocked the unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.
When Towles looks at Lorenzen, he sees Highlands' new quarterbacks coach.
"How good is that?" Towles said. "Anybody with NFL experience, you want to listen to them. And he played here at Highlands. He can really relate."
One of the ways the two can relate is through their shared stature.
"We're both big quarterbacks," said Lorenzen, whose was listed at 6 feet 2 and 240 pounds while at Highlands. "Patrick is a lot taller and almost as big as I was when I was a junior. He's 6-4, 225. I feel like I can teach him what to do and how to play being a big guy back there who's going to be hard to bring down if he gets out of the pocket."
Lorenzen, 29, was hired to be an unpaid assistant at Highlands on March 23. His return to his alma mater came a little less than two years after the Giants released him and about a year after he was assigned to the Kentucky Horsemen, an arena football team that went bankrupt and was dissolved last October.
Lorenzen's last attempt to make an NFL team came in 2009, but he was released by the Indianapolis Colts during the team's final cuts in September.
The way Bluebirds head coach Dale Mueller sees it, pro football's loss is Highlands' gain.
"Jared has such a great combination of experience and talent. But, even more so, he is such a great teacher," Mueller said. "When Jared was a player, he was great. But, first and foremost, he was a great teammate. And he's like that as a coach."
Lorenzen, who has been married for three years and has two children, is looking for a job. He's going back to school to earn a teaching degree.
But he's got time to help a coach who helped mold him as a football player and a person.
"He knows so much about the game and I can learn a lot about coaching just by being here and being around him because I'd like to get into coaching," Lorenzen said.
As for Towles, who led Highlands to an unbeaten state championship season last year as the starting quarterback over the final eight games, Lorenzen said the junior has the right stuff to advance.
"He's big. He can see over everybody. He's got a big arm. He makes really good reads. He can throw it 60 yards. He pretty fast and he wants to learn," Lorenzen said. "And he's only 16.
"He's head and shoulders ahead of where I was when I was his age. He gets the game, and I truly believe he can play at the next level."
Towles already is learning about the NFL game. Lorenzen brings in film of the Giants, highlighting quarterback Eli Manning's work with the receivers. He and Towles sit down for viewing sessions.
"He's big on sitting you down and explaining things instead of calling you out on the field," Towles said.
Said Lorenzen: "As a high school quarterback, you can take a lot from knowing how the game is supposed to be played. I'm really happy to help out. It's a blast. I love it and I hope to spend a few years here because the kids are so much fun to work with."
And, occasionally, the man who still shares the state record with his 99-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hassan for Highlands in 1996, gets to wing it in practice.
"Coach likes to limit the quarterbacks' throws, so I get to get in there and throw running routes to the receivers," Lorenzen said. "Any way I can help coach out, I will."
When Highlands quarterback Patrick Towles looks at Jared Lorenzen, he does not see the former high school quarterback who threw for 3,392 yards and 45 touchdowns while leading the unbeaten Bluebirds to a state championship and winning the Kentucky Mr. Football award in 1998.
He does not see the former Kentucky player who set school records in total offense, passing yards and passing touchdowns while playing for the Wildcats.
And he does not see the former NFL player who, as a third-string quarterback, won a Super Bowl ring in 2008 when the New York Giants shocked the unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.
When Towles looks at Lorenzen, he sees Highlands' new quarterbacks coach.
"How good is that?" Towles said. "Anybody with NFL experience, you want to listen to them. And he played here at Highlands. He can really relate."
One of the ways the two can relate is through their shared stature.
"We're both big quarterbacks," said Lorenzen, whose was listed at 6 feet 2 and 240 pounds while at Highlands. "Patrick is a lot taller and almost as big as I was when I was a junior. He's 6-4, 225. I feel like I can teach him what to do and how to play being a big guy back there who's going to be hard to bring down if he gets out of the pocket."
Lorenzen, 29, was hired to be an unpaid assistant at Highlands on March 23. His return to his alma mater came a little less than two years after the Giants released him and about a year after he was assigned to the Kentucky Horsemen, an arena football team that went bankrupt and was dissolved last October.
Lorenzen's last attempt to make an NFL team came in 2009, but he was released by the Indianapolis Colts during the team's final cuts in September.
The way Bluebirds head coach Dale Mueller sees it, pro football's loss is Highlands' gain.
"Jared has such a great combination of experience and talent. But, even more so, he is such a great teacher," Mueller said. "When Jared was a player, he was great. But, first and foremost, he was a great teammate. And he's like that as a coach."
Lorenzen, who has been married for three years and has two children, is looking for a job. He's going back to school to earn a teaching degree.
But he's got time to help a coach who helped mold him as a football player and a person.
"He knows so much about the game and I can learn a lot about coaching just by being here and being around him because I'd like to get into coaching," Lorenzen said.
As for Towles, who led Highlands to an unbeaten state championship season last year as the starting quarterback over the final eight games, Lorenzen said the junior has the right stuff to advance.
"He's big. He can see over everybody. He's got a big arm. He makes really good reads. He can throw it 60 yards. He pretty fast and he wants to learn," Lorenzen said. "And he's only 16.
"He's head and shoulders ahead of where I was when I was his age. He gets the game, and I truly believe he can play at the next level."
Towles already is learning about the NFL game. Lorenzen brings in film of the Giants, highlighting quarterback Eli Manning's work with the receivers. He and Towles sit down for viewing sessions.
"He's big on sitting you down and explaining things instead of calling you out on the field," Towles said.
Said Lorenzen: "As a high school quarterback, you can take a lot from knowing how the game is supposed to be played. I'm really happy to help out. It's a blast. I love it and I hope to spend a few years here because the kids are so much fun to work with."
And, occasionally, the man who still shares the state record with his 99-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hassan for Highlands in 1996, gets to wing it in practice.
"Coach likes to limit the quarterbacks' throws, so I get to get in there and throw running routes to the receivers," Lorenzen said. "Any way I can help coach out, I will."
![[-]](https://bluegrassrivals.com/forum/images/lifestyle/collapse.png)
Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
